title: Cytoreductive surgery for recurrent ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the relative effect of multiple prognostic variables on overall post-recurrence survival time among cohorts of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer undergoing cytoreductive surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty cohorts of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer (2019 patients) meeting study inclusion criteria were identified from the MEDLINE database (1983-2007). Simple and multiple linear regression analyses, with weighted correlation calculations, were used to assess the effect on median post-recurrence survival time of the following variables: year of publication, age, disease-free interval, localized disease, tumor grade and histology, the proportion of patients undergoing complete cytoreductive surgery, requirement for bowel resection, and the sequence of cytoreductive surgery and salvage chemotherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean weighted median disease-free interval prior to cytoreductive surgery was 20.2 months, and the mean weighted median overall post-recurrence survival time was 30.3 months. The weighted mean proportion of patients in each cohort undergoing complete cytoreductive surgery was 52.2%. Median survival improved with increasing year of publication (p=0.009); however, the only statistically significant clinical variable independently associated with post-recurrence survival time was the proportion of patients undergoing complete cytoreductive surgery (p=0.019). After controlling for all other factors, each 10% increase in the proportion of patients undergoing complete cytoreductive surgery was associated with a 3.0 month increase in median cohort survival time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among patients undergoing operative intervention for recurrent ovarian cancer, the proportion of patients undergoing complete cytoreductive surgery is independently associated with overall post-recurrence survival time. For this select group of patients, the surgical objective should be resection of all macroscopic disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, The Kelly Gynecologic Oncology Service, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA. rbristo@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Bristow
authors.forename: Isha
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Puri
authors.forename: Dennis S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Chi
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D013509:Gynecologic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000601:surgery*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*